pkgdown 2.2.0 now out — tidyverse.org/blog/2025/11.... Main feature is new build_llm_docs() which makes your websites easier to understand by LLMs. (Which you can easily turn off if desired) #rstats

purrr 1.2.0 out now — mostly removing long deprecated functions but a few small performance nad parallel processing improvements. Learn more at www.tidyverse.org/blog/2025/11... #rstats

Someone on ‘the other place’ just unearthed and reposted this data vis I made a couple of years ago. Such is the decline in engagement- there or here- that even 8 likes now looks impressive!

New blog post: Claude as a dialectical engine? jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos... (Have LLMs now solved their sycophancy problem?)

D’oh!

I’ve now experienced an LLM (Claude) start to ask me questions and push back on specific suggestions and assumptions I’ve made either implicitly or explicitly through the prompt. To me this suggests LLMs are moving from ‘Affirmation Engines’ to ‘Dialectical Engines’, a change I wasn’t expecting.

Would any fluent speakers of Korean or Chinese have a couple of minutes to review some updated pkgdown translations at github.com/r-lib/pkgdow... ? These were generated by claude code, so they're probably ok, but I'd love a human to double check.

Climbing with Claude: understanding git/GitHub for collaborative version control: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Here’s Claude’s scarily accurate summary of my 9 ideas:

Nine thoughts and ideas inspired by reading Tim Berners-Lee's This is for Everyone: (From Monetisation to Marriage Markets) jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Has the child prodigy who made the game Theme Park in 1994 ‘solved intelligence’? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theme_P... jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

New blog post: the man who solved intelligence - Demis Hassabis and the Thinking Game: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos... (I’m not even sure the title is hyperbole…)

KGB: 1992’s subtly terrifying social poison simulator: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Trump speaks with mismatching parentheses [}

I’ve now written about two books worth of idiosyncratic nerdery: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

🚨1000 authoritarian actions. 7 months🚨 I've been tracking Trump's authoritarian actions. From dismantling democratic institutions to militarising immigration enforcement, Trump is reshaping America. In my new post I highlight key authoriarian attacks christinapagel.substack.com/p/grand-desi... 1/2

I wonder what Greek people say when they don’t like or understand algebra…

Some thoughts on, and inspired by, Helen Lewis’ The Genius Myth: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

The Microphones of Edinburgh: A memoir

Ok: 1 like = 1 demographic fact* * may include estimates, generalizations, dataviz, or unsubstantiated claims

What does the square root of ANS actually sell?

“It’s your choice: A satire featuring three men, two gods, and one chair.” jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos... (The first short story I’ve written for some while…)

Causal Inference: an opinionated introduction: jonminton.github.io/JonStats/pag...

🆕 Rapid evidence review: Local multiplier effects of changes in public spending We’ve published a new briefing on the local multiplier effects of changes in public spending. Read in full 👇 whatworksgrowth.org/wp-content/u...

Oddly profound comedy skit: professor discovers he’s teaching a chorus of omniscient gods, and doesn’t know what to do with this: youtu.be/bl8Z7Dl7P9A?...

Fan of the show?

"There was little evidence for improving health across successive cohorts born since 1946 when compared at the same age. For several outcomes – obesity, mental ill-health & diabetes – prevalence of poor health was higher in more recent generations, a pattern we term Generational Health Drift"

Hasn’t the world’s smallest violin existed, by definition, as soon as the first violin was made?

“We argue that higher dependency ratios associated with the demographic transition can be considered a manageable challenge for many”

Part bizarre and disturbing, part life-affirming. I’ll be thinking about his story for a long time. Storyville, The Contestant: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002dt13

Definitely got me thinking: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

New blog post: The Contestant: when Japan turned a cruel thought experiment into reality TV: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Am I reading too much into the hyphen here? If it had said “45,47” it would mean “I won. I lost. I won again.” But “45-47” suggests “I never lost and I’m taking a third term because the second was stolen from me”

Spotted in Hull last week: a hot dog that’s both 87% pork AND halal (and vegan)

Repeated measures and random intercepts modelling: more than you could ever want to know (or decipher, given it’s handwritten): jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

The Stand Ident: when trying to make a brand 'nicer' makes it meaningless: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Excellent piece by @chrisgiles.ft.com on how ageing populations haven't yet played out the way we predicted in 2000:

✨✨✨ Recent international comparisons of Life Expectancy show that the UK’s faltering health is a choice for govt - not an inevitability The causes are deep-seated and reflect the long run economic decline and policy neglect over several decades Time for action www.health.org.uk/features-and...

Some thoughts on Alex Garland's film Warfare: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Thankyou to @nrennie.bsky.social, Jordan Richards and @EdinbR.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy for the EdinbR meetup tonight. Nicola made Observable feel like it could now be in my 'adjacent possible', which it absolutely was not before tonight!

Horrifying: the Carers Allowance Cliff Edge: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/p...

Three game recommendations for non-gamers: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos... #blueprince #discoelysium #plants-vs-zombies

🔴 Remember Aria, the “moonshot" research agency dreamed up by Dominic Cummings? It's funded by £800m in public money but exempt from FOI laws We decided to fight for transparency... and we won 🎉 New on Democracy for Sale w/ @lucasamin.bsky.social democracyforsale.substack.com/p/dominic-cu...

The 12th annual KOSTAT-UNFPA Summer Seminar on Population is now open for registration. Check out my hands-on Introduction to Demography, followed by Vladimir Canudas Romo's module on Population Health (!), and a third module by Scott Yabiku on Event History Analysis! intpopstat.kr/seminar/01_1...

Some thoughts on the implicit economics of life in the film Mickey 17: jonminton.github.io/jon-blog/pos...

Happy Benign Misinformation Day!

Terrific piece and thread by Tom this. Just one particular bit I want to draw out...

If you're at a loose end, you could watch my complete playthrough of Disco Elysium. Over 90 hours long, so that should do you over the weekend. youtube.com/playlist?lis...

As expected, the APC talk for the sociologists was a lot of fun! In case you're curious, you can find the slides here: osf.io/mvqkx